Matthew Hinton/The Times-PicayuneFlorida quarterback Tim Tebow's character thus far has proved beyond reproach. But there probably are those who believe he could have.

In an honors-filled collegiate career that ends when the No. 5 Gators face No. 3 Cincinnati in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Friday night at the Superdome, Tebow often has been attributed qualities that can be viewed as equal parts spiritual and comic book hero.

Sometimes, it seems that there is a “Tim Tebow,” who exists apart from the person — Mother Teresa in eye black with a devastating jump pass. Just ask LSU.

Certainly, there hasn’t been a college athlete of such celebrity status since perhaps Red Grange, and Grange’s heyday was decades before the ubiquitous eye and ear of modern technology, where the everyday actions of ordinary persons — much less celebrities — are on constant public display.

Needless to say Tebow is mindful enough of his image — or as he sees it, duty — as a role model that it’s highly unlikely he’ll be seen frequenting any Bourbon Street venues this week. The dashing face of college football is the anti-Tiger Woods, a man of faith and virtue along with his considerable athletic talent.

Naturally, though, there has been a backlash.

They even have a term — “Tebow fatigue” — for those who are tired of hearing about this Everybody’s All-American who’s just too good to be true.

To which Shelley Meyer, the Gator coach’s wife, responded by choosing to put 1 Timothy 4:12 on the eye black she wore to Tebow’s final home game along with thousands other fans, “Let no man despite your youth, but be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

Tebow does, according to previous Gator quarterback and Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel, have his flaws, but he added: “On some of us they’re just harder to spot than on others.”

Still, Tebow’s character has thus far proven beyond reproach.

Who else would be escorting an eye-catching blonde to the college football awards show he’d just met the day before when he spotted her wearing an “I Love Timmy” T-shirt, only to have it turn out she recently had brain tumor surgery and still suffers from hearing loss and tremors?

Who else would, after escorting the aforementioned Kelly Faughnan down the red carpet, would return so he could sign autographs?

Who else would be asked if he was saving himself for marriage and give a straightforward answer of “Yes”?

Who else would attend the Heisman Trophy announcement knowing he has no chance to claim the trophy for a second time (he won as a sophomore), only to wind up helping eventual winner Mark Ingram of Alabama overcome his nervousness?

Who else would inspire the governor of his state to urge the Tebow’s hometown Jacksonville Jaguars to draft him in hopes that the expected boost in season-ticket sales would prevent the team from possibly leaving Florida?

“Tim has some of the old-school values that college and pro sports has gotten away from,” Wuerffel said. “What Tim has brought (is) the skill of being a phenomenal athlete in this day and age, along with some of the wholesome and solid things about what it means to be a human being. The way he cares for other people and lives to help other people is so refreshing for all of us.”

All of the attention and acclaim, Tebow said Monday, can be a bit too much.

“Just like everything, there’s a lot of pros and cons that go with it,” he said. “It is tough to go some places and tough to do some things. And at the same time, I get a great opportunity to speak to people, to go to hospitals and make people smile.

“Kids look up to me, and I have an opportunity to have an influence on them.”

The son of missionaries who emphasized a social consciousness, Tebow brings an evangelistic zeal to seemingly everything he does, from working out to visiting prisons to spreading a message of hope instead of just limiting himself to photo opportunities with children, many of whom get to spend time with him as part of Make-a-Wish-type requests.

Tebow’s also an inspiring team leader. That was never more so than in last season’s Southeastern Conference championship game against Alabama when he charged into offensive, defensive and special teams huddles to rally the Gators to victory.

Beating the Crimson Tide put Florida into the BCS championship game, where the Gators won their second national title in three years. But in an identical situation earlier this month, all of Tebow’s exhortations couldn’t will his team past Alabama.

The 32-13 defeat — the first since Tebow made “The Promise” speech 22 games before after losing to Ole Miss when he vowed that in the future no one would ever see a person play harder or push his team harder — reduced Tebow to tears, something his critics seemed to take delight in mocking him about.

“Good for them,” Tebow said in a rare public moment of spite. “If they enjoy seeing me cry, then I have bigger things to worry about.”

The defeat also landed Tebow and the Gators in the Sugar Bowl, a consolation prize that he sees as an opportunity for the winningest senior class in SEC history to go out with a bang.

“Losing to Alabama was very hard for a lot of us,” he said. “And so finding a way to bounce back and win this game will be special.”

It also will be the last time, barring a late decision to play in the Senior Bowl, that Tebow will be in uniform until his NFL career begins.

Just how much of an impact Tebow will have in the NFL is a subject of debate. Even his staunchest supporters concede his mechanics, especially a slow delivery, are questionable. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay has Tebow valued in the middle of the second round, but probably going higher.

“I’d be surprised if all-star games and workout will change opinions on Tim,” McShay said. “But the thing that will help him the most will be sitting down in the interview room.

“All it takes is one team and one decision-maker to take him a half round or full round higher than maybe they should. And they’ve got to be mindful that while drafting Tebow is going to be a PR bonanza, you’ve got to have a quarterback in place who knows how to handle something like that.”

McShay added that Tebow as a starting quarterback could be a four to five-year project, and that the 6-foot-3, 240-pounder who holds the SEC career rushing touchdown record with 56, could wind up as an H-back or short-yardage specialist running out of the Wildcat formation.

For his part, Tebow has asked only for a chance to be a quarterback first, and if that doesn’t work out he’ll willingly play another position.

But Tebow also is looking to life beyond football.

“I’m very grateful for football and the platform it’s given me,” he said. “But I’ve always seen that as a means to an end for me, not the end. I want to be involved in a lot of non-profits, really trying to make a difference not just other countries, but in America, too, with things like boys and girls ranches and orphanages. That’s always been my heart.”

Tebow’s not even ruling out politics at some point down the line.

For now, though, Tebow is looking forward to relaxing a bit after the Sugar Bowl, perhaps talking Meyer into playing more golf as part of his relaxation rehab.